To compromise integrity
To Compromise Integrity
- Should You Sell Your Soul? -
How many of you have seen our federal elected officials boldly stand in front of national media cameras and whine like a bunch of babies because the other guys just wouldn't compromise with them. Usually the "compromise whine" is used to elicit support from you and me, the regular, everyday American Taxpayer. When I see this behavior from our elected officials, it disgusts me and I choose to NOT drink from the glass of "compromise whine' they offer.
Think about the times you hear our national leaders call for compromise and bipartisanship. I agree that in business and in government things get done through compromise allowing for bipartisan agreements. The requirement to compromise through a system of checks and balances is one of the major protections our Founding Fathers put in our constitution for our citizen's rights to be protected from abuse arising from the power we provide our elected officials through our vote. Our Founding Fathers believed in and exercised the power and wisdom that comes through the dialogue of disagreement. So what's wrong with wanting the other guys to compromise? Why shouldn't we pressure our elected officials to compromise more so that they will get more done? I'm glad you asked.
When you look at the need for compromise, do not confuse or mix the words bipartisan and compromise. Bipartisan means that a decision includes members from both sides of an issue and compromise means a settlement of differences by mutual concessions. This works for the good of all if our elected officials seek bipartisan agreements through compromise guided by integrity.
Suppose some of your friends stopped by your house and told you that they wanted to start a meth lab, open a house of prostitution and that they wanted to distribute cocaine smuggled in from Columbia. In order to get the money to pay for these three ventures they have cased the home of a wealthy member of your community, the office of a local business and the home of your next-door neighbor and they plan on robbing from each of them during the coming weekend. They tell you that they want you to join them in the venture. What are your options?
1) Join them and see if you can make a lot of money.
2) Compromise with them and propose that they only rob the wealthy member of your community and the local business but not your next-door neighbor.
3) Compromise with them and agree to rob all three of their prospects and propose that they only manufacture meth and sell cocaine but not start a house of prostitution.
4) Compromise with them by offering to rob the three individuals they have targeted but use the money to provide food and clothing for some of the homeless and poor in your community.
5) Compromise with them by offering to borrow money from your home, your family and your neighbors to finance building the meth lab, starting the house of prostitution and distributing cocaine.
Of these five, the last four are your choices of compromise with these friends. As you can see in the above scenario, compromise solely for the sake of compromise without integrity may not be what is right. It is not compromise with integrity when something needed, right or noble is accomplished through wrong or dishonest means. It is not compromise with integrity to use honest and good methods of obtaining resources in order to accomplish a dishonest, immoral or harmful goal.
If either the goal itself or the means of accomplishing a goal is not through forthrightness showing moral and ethical standards, then how can a person of integrity "compromise" with the other guys solely for the sake of compromise? Let's make certain that we don't simply demand that our elected officials compromise for the sake of compromise. Through our votes and our continual communication with our elected officials we need to demand that they either are or become a person who will stand with good judgment and principle and not be someone who straddles the fence. Let each of us seek representatives who will stand solid on what they believe whether trying to enforce their belief or through deciding not to make an exception to that which they believe.
Each of us has a choice as to how we will spend our time. Progressive politicians would have you believe that you should spend all of your time on yourself and trust them to guard the integrity and honor of our federal system of government. I ask each of you to become involved in our political system and demand that your representatives govern by compromising with integrity. Offer no excuses and hold accountable every elected official who governs by compromising integrity.
* I truly enjoy all of your comments so please continue to contact me at the following email address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
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"Progressives will use the good we believe in and our sense of fair play against us …… The kindness in the heart of the American is a weapon in the arsenal of the Progressive to be used against the individual."
[Nick Streza. PROGRESS IN AMERICA, Redefining The American Dream, (Tate Publishing 2011), page 17]
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